Once Upon a Time
by Idothisfortheladies
Summary: Fabian Rutter is a prince who, in a few weeks time, will be turning eighteen. Eighteen, of course, is the perfect age to marry. Jerome Clarke is a guy who happened to piss off a witch a few years ago and got stuck in a tower. Yeah, his life sucks. Naturally, this is Jerome/Fabian. There will be Amber/Alfie and Patricia/Eddie in this, though not in large quantities.


**A/N:**

**La-Di-Da:**

**1.) This is, as you should know, AU **

**2.) I do not own any of the characters in this (that you recognize)**

**3.) Sorry about how random this is (I was thinking about Tangled and Beastly)**

**Anyway, let's see how this turns out.**

Fabian's POV

"Fabian Rutter, are you ignoring me again?"

I jump a bit as the voice, falsely angry, pulls me from my thoughts. I smile apologetically at the blonde girl sitting beside me, running a hand through my hair.

"Sorry, Amber, I was thinking."

Amber smiles and puts a hand on my arm, "It's ok; it's not like I've forgotten what I was saying. I can say it all again and, this time, you can make sure to listen."

"Alright." I sit up straighter and focus on Amber's lips and hands and eyes as she talks, trying to remain present. She's talking about the pain of being a princess, most of it caused by the fact that she can't date who she wants. Apparently, there's a really cute Duke named Alfie who her Father refuses to let her marry.

"It's because he's a Duke and Daddy is _soo _old fashioned." She sighs, twisting a bit of blonde hair around her finger. In most girls, this would be frowned upon at the dinner table, but Amber's main flirtation tactic is her hair. It doesn't annoy people, but rather enthralls them. At least half of the table, male and female, are watching her as she plays with her pretty locks.

"Sorry to hear that." I apologize and Amber laughs.

"Don't be silly, at least my parents let me leave the castle. Village boys can be _soo _much fun to play with, you know."

"You talk to the peasants?" I ask, curiosity piqued, and Amber nods.

"Yes, Mum takes me sometimes. She likes the way the boys look at me because she thinks I'm the prettiest girl ever."

"She parades you around because of your looks?" I frown and Amber rolls her eyes.

"It's not a boy thing, you wouldn't understand."

"No, I guess I wouldn't." I play with my fork and Amber sighs again. I don't know whether it's because she's remembering all the boys or because she's tired of being paraded around, but she doesn't elaborate. Instead, she changes topics, obviously bored of the previous one.

"Are you going to the ball next week? I hear everyone will be there."

"I can't, Mother wants me to stay here."

"I was going to ask you to dance with me." Amber pouts and I laugh at her.

"You'll have plenty of partners, Amber, don't worry." I reassure and she smiles, shrugging.

"I guess, but it won't be any fun without you. All I'll have is stupid Mick." She pouts again. Amber used to be interested in Mick but, as she attempted to flirt, found that he was just as used to getting his way as she was. However, while Amber is kind at heart, Mick tends to be a little harsher.

"You don't have to dance with Mick." I remind her.

"I guess not, but I really want to dance with someone cute. If you're not there, Mick will be the only cute one, because Alfie doesn't do balls. I heard him say that once and I think its _soo_ adorable."

We're back to Alfie now, which means I can return to my thoughts. I've heard about Alfie before, and she tends to repeat things, although she can be very intelligent.

With Amber distracted, I decide to peer down the length of the table and see who all made it. I was supposed to greet the guests, but I was late getting ready, and just barely made it to dinner on time. Mother wasn't pleased, but there was nothing she could do about it, at least not in a room full of people.

I see several familiar faces, mostly princesses I've seen at other balls. Mara and Nina and Joy are all clustered at the end of the table smiling shyly at princesses and talking. Nina catches my eye and smiles, curly hair falling in her face, and I wave back. When Joy sees me she winks, mouthing something that looks suspiciously like "Dance with me" before returning to her conversation.

Joy is one of my oldest fans and a would-be suitor if I liked her that way. I don't, mostly because she's a sister to me. We've practically grown up together due to the fact that she lives in the kingdom next to ours. It's the same way with Amber, both of them visiting frequently.

Mother likes Joy and Amber equally, though she mentions daily that Joy and I would make a better match. Not only do we mesh well together emotionally, but physically as well. Amber is almost too fair to be any good next to me, at least that's what Mother says.

I generally take her word for it because, as Father says, it's not my place to worry about relationships until I find the right girl. He always leaves out that he and Mother were forced into a marriage due to the hostility between their two kingdoms.

"Fabian, were you even listening?" Amber once again breaks me from my thoughts and I grin sheepishly at her. She smacks my arm, but she's smiling, and I know she doesn't mind.

"You're much too hard to deal with, Fabes. I could never marry you."

"I don't think anyone could." I comment.

"Oh, Fabes, you know any of these girls would love to be your bride." Amber pinches my cheek as Father announces that it's time to dance. All of the guests stand and scurry to the dance floor, skirts billowing and swishing as the girls move. Amber waits for me to help her from the table before moving, holding on to my hand so I can escort her to the floor. We made a pact back when we were young that she would always be my first dance.

"Speaking of marriage, you really need to start considering your options." The music begins and we glide across the floor. Amber moves effortlessly, smiling every once and a while at someone in the crowd.

"You sound like my mother." I reply drily and Amber tosses her hair.

"You _know _we're right, Fabes. You just don't want to admit it."

"I never said you were wrong, just that I'm not interested in any girls."

We spin and the other dances go by in a whirl of colors. Mara looks lovely in red, and Nina has on a pretty blue, but Amber looks the best in her light purple dress. I know that I'm lucky to be so close to her, because she is definitely gorgeous. She would also make a good wife; she's firm enough to stand up, but willing enough to sit down.

"You can't be serious. You're not interested in anyone?" Amber asks.

I shake my head as the music comes to a stop and the partners begin to split and reassemble. Mara is chosen by none other than Mick, who smirks at Amber as we go by. She scoffs back and places a hand on Mara's shoulder.

"You look lovely, Mara."

"Thank you, Amber, so do you." Mara smiles kindly and I bow slightly.

"Stunning, as usual."

"Thank you, Fabian. You look dashing." She giggles and I bow once more before allowing Amber to lead me away. We stand far from Mick as the next dance begins and Amber tucks her hair behind her ears.

"You better find someone fast or all the good ones will be gone." She warns.

"Can't I just marry you?" I beg and she places a hand on my cheek.

"Oh Fabian, I'm still convincing Daddy that Alfie will make a good king. You need to find someone to make you as happy as he makes me."

"You're right, of course, but how am I supposed to do that? Joy makes me happy, but I can't see myself with her. Nina and Mara make me happy, but I don't want to rule a kingdom with them."

"Perhaps you should try expanding your boundaries a little. Try convincing your Mum to let you out of the castle for once, instead of locking you away. You know, every girl wants to be a princess." Amber smiles and releases me as the music comes to a stop and Nina comes to take her place. I absentmindedly go through the motions of another dance, my mind caught on what Amber said.

Maybe convincing Mother to let me out _is _the only option, but how am I supposed to do that?

**Ok, yeah, this chapter sucked. **

**And yet, I'm oddly proud of it. **

**There was a lot of Amber in this, so there will probably be a lot in other chapters, because I really liked writing her. **


End file.
